--- title: "NASA Setting Up Facility For Mars Rock Samples That Might Contain Alien Life" description: "NASA has announced that it's setting up a facility specifically to deposit Mars rock samples, which may contain traces of ancient Martian life. " date: "2023-01-29" modified: "2023-01-29" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-mars-rock-facility" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Mars" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "life on mars" - "mars rocks" - "perseverance" - "the digest" --- # NASA Setting Up Facility For Mars Rock Samples That Might Contain Alien Life ![NASA has announced that it's setting up a facility specifically to deposit Mars rock samples, which may contain traces of ancient life on the Red Planet. ]() *\Image: NASA\* ## Rock And Roll NASA [has announced]() that it's setting up a facility specifically designed to house Mars rock samples collected by its Perseverance Mars rover — which may contain traces of ancient Martian life. According to the agency, the new facility will be located at the Johnson Space Center in Houston and will be geared towards "receiving and curating" the extremely rare rocks as safely as possible. Known as the Mars Sample Receiving (MSR) project, this endeavor is, per NASA, "expected to be the most complex robotic space flight campaign ever attempted," and is scheduled to kick off in about a decade once the samples make their way back to Earth. It certainly won't be an easy task. The samples, which are being prepared by NASA's rover on the Martian surface, will have to be picked up by the European Space Agency's rover, which is still [in development](), before making their long journey back home. ## Look Alive Not everybody is happy about the prospect of bringing Martian rocks to Earth. [Scientists have raised concerns]() with NASA's previous plans to have the Air Force house the samples over fears that the military could end up mishandling potentially dangerous alien contaminants. "I think that it's a very low probability that there's anything living at the surface of Mars," Louisiana State University geologist [Peter Doran told *NPR* last May](). "But there is a possibility." In an effort to quell these fears, [NASA claims in a factsheet]() that scientists "have found an extremely low likelihood that samples collected from areas on Mars like those being explored" because Martian samples had already been crashing to Earth in the form of meteorites. In short, we should just be glad the task will be in the hands of the actual experts and not some random military dudes. **More on Mars rocks:** [*NASA Discovers Precious Gemstones on Mars*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()